


Blanket Fever

by Serie11



Category: Horizon: Zero Dawn (Video Game)
Genre: But Mostly Comfort, Cuddle Pile, Cuddling & Snuggling, Cute, F/F, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Nora Traditions, Platonic Cuddling, Post-Canon, Sick Character, Sleepy Cuddles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-07
Updated: 2018-04-07
Packaged: 2019-04-19 14:36:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,095
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14239398
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Serie11/pseuds/Serie11
Summary: “You mean you used to do this a lot?” Aloy asked, voice feeling scratchy. “Make piles of blankets to sit in?"“Eh?” Vala said. “Of course! It’s an honoured Nora tradition. The cuddle pile.”





	Blanket Fever

Aloy sniffled and tugged the blanket tighter around her. She was already warm – there was a roaring fire in the hearth, and the lodge was tightly built to prevent any heat leakage. After all, in winter the Nora lands were blisteringly cold, and the Nora had found a way to build their houses to keep as much warmth in as possible.

Aloy was just glad that she was currently alone in the lodge. This one was smaller than a lot of other ones that she’d seen, probably because it was Sona’s – so only Sona and her two children live here. From what Vala had told her, this meant that any partners of Sona’s children were expected to move into Sona’s lodge – it was how new lodges were built, around family and connections. Though this lodge might not turn out that way. After all, Varl currently had no interest in anyone, and Aloy didn’t think that Vala was going to be breaking up with her in the future. Since Aloy was away so much, that often left just the three of them in this one lodge. Aloy wondered sometimes if it was lonely, even though having three people in one room to sleep seemed like more than enough for her.

She’d been on her way up to the Cut to talk to CYAN about a particular bit of wiring that had her stymied at GAIA Prime, but on the way there she had decided to drop in to see Vala. It had been weeks since they’d seen each other, and Aloy always desperately missed her when she was out and about by herself. Oh, certainly, she could do it – she was more than capable of living off the land and being by herself in the wilderness, but after gaining allies and friends after the fall of HADES, she had learned that while she was able to live by herself, she didn’t _have_ to. And being with people always made her feel warm and soft, and especially being with Vala meant that her heart had time to mend as she leant on Vala’s strength and wisdom and patience. Honestly, Aloy sometimes wondered why Vala even wanted to have her in her life, but Aloy didn’t want to argue the point overly much. She loved Vala far too much to even consider letting her go.

So Aloy had been just outside Nora lands when she’d felt herself coming down with some sort of cold – and of course, the weather being as it was, by the time she made it to Mother’s Crown she had developed a full blown fever. Luckily Vala had been in Mother’s Crown, and had taken her to Sona’s lodge, where Aloy had spent an indeterminable number of days drifting between sleep and waking. Vala had been there most of the time when she had woken up, and Varl at other times. Aloy had drifted into consciousness one time to hear them arguing lowly over her head.

“It’s the stress of her doing it all by herself. This isn’t a normal fever.”

“I think that we should give her more willowbark tea when she wakes up.”

“Well then make some! But don’t you agree about the workload? Brother, we should be out there, helping her. Every day that goes by, I feel terrible that I’m not by her side.”

“When spring comes and the Sacred Lands are rebuilt enough for all to have homes. Then we can loose ourselves from here to be with her. You know that we cannot leave until then.”

Vala had been quiet for a time. “Well, maybe she cannot leave until then either. Look at her…”

Vala had kissed Aloy’s forehead lightly, and Aloy had sunk back into a dreamless sleep.

Now, Aloy was over most of the fever and mostly just had the sniffles. Varl was in charge of bringing her food to regain her strength, and Vala was in charge of keeping her occupied enough so that she wouldn’t charge outside without her armour to find something to do. Aloy couldn’t help but twitch her lips – Vala was _very_ good at being distracting. But Aloy was nearly better, and then she would have to leave again. She sighed. Just thinking about it made a weight settle in her chest.

The door opened, and Aloy brightened to see Vala come through it, even though she didn’t show that emotion. Rost had always complained of that, too – when she was sick as a child, she had always been grumpy and stubborn on the outside, even when she was grateful for something. No matter what she was feeling, when she was sick Aloy just had resting bitch face.

“You’re awake,” Vala sung gently as she came over to her side. “You look good!”

“Feel better than I have been,” Aloy mumbled, burying her face into her blankets. “Thanks for looking after me.” Even her voice was gruff and annoyed sounding – inside her head, Aloy imagined smacking her forehead for her tone. She was meant to be sounding grateful right about now!

Vala wrapped an arm around her. “Ah, well you know me. Pretty girl shows up, is all banged up, I have to take care of her. No option.”

“I hope you haven’t been taking in many of these pretty girls,” Aloy grumbled.

Vala laughed. “Oh, I don’t know. I seem to take in just the one, but more than one time! I should tell her to get a better handle on herself.” Vala kissed her cheek gently. “Varl’s coming over with dinner in a bit.”

“How was the reconstruction efforts for today?” Aloy makes herself ask, even though she’s tired (and she’s _tired_ of being _tired,_ why is she sick?) and can’t really bring herself to care all that much at the moment.

“Good,” Vala says after a few seconds. “Mother’s Watch is nearly all rebuilt. We’ve finally managed to get rid of the thunderjaw that was outside All Mother Mountain. I can’t believe that Varl’s idea of carrying parts to scrapper sites actually ended up working.”

Aloy huffed a laugh. “Made sense to me.”

Vala rolls her eyes. “Everything makes sense to you.”

Aloy grumbles a bit in response.

Vala sighs. “Are you feeling okay?”

“Just fine,” Aloy said, still annoyed at how standoffish her voice sounded. She even felt standoffish – but she couldn’t bring herself to change her emotional state at the moment. It was hard to concentrate when she felt like shit.

“I know what will make you feel better,” Vala said mischievously.

“What,” Aloy said dubiously. Vala’s tone reminded her of some of their more risqué escapades, but she didn’t think that _that_ was what Vala was talking about, since she’d said that Varl would be over soon.

Vala began tugging at her blanket. “Come on, let me have this.”

“No!” Aloy protested. “This is my blanket! Get your own!”

“I need it,” Vala insisted. “Come on, you’ll like it, I promise.”

“You better be glad I love you,” Aloy grumbled as she allowed Vala to tumble her out of the blanket cocoon she had made around herself. Vala grabbed the blanket off Varl’s bed as well, and dumped them near the fire. Aloy stubbornly stayed curled up on Vala’s bed.

Vala grabbed a few pillows and then sat down in the mess that she’d made, beckoning Aloy over. “Come here.”

“No.”

“Babe, it’s not that far.”

“ _Nooooo,_ ” Aloy said piteously.

“I’m not falling for that,” Vala said. “I know you’re mostly all better.”

“ _Mostly_ being the key word!”

 “I’ll drag you over here.”

Aloy mumbled to herself. That wasn’t an idle threat. She knew Vala well enough to know that.

Slowly, dramatically, she flopped off the bed and onto the floor. Vala raised one eyebrow. Aloy rolled towards her until her hip was pressed up against Vala’s knee.

“There. I’m here.”

Vala put her hands over her face. Aloy fought not to grin.

“Just get in here with me.”

Aloy sighed but wriggled inside the blankets. Vala had managed to arrange things so that she could curl up on her side but she was also able to sort of sit up at the same time. Aloy huffed lowly. Just another one of Vala’s amazing skills.

The door to the lodge opened again, and Vala looked over. Aloy didn’t bother to turn her head.

“I have dinner,” Varl said.

Aloy closed her eyes and listened to Varl and Vala squabble over how dinner was going to be split up and who was going to eat what. The Nora were worried sick over Aloy, so many of them offered extra food for Aloy, even when rebuilding often meant that they didn’t have enough to feed their own families. Varl knew who needed the food and who could spare some, so he was the one who went around and collected food from the few Nora families that were left. Their meals were often a mix of all Nora styles of cooking.

“Do you want boar or turkey?” Varl asked her.

“Turkey,” Aloy mumbled.

Varl pressed a bowl into her hands. Aloy opened her eyes. Varl had taken off his boots and outer coat, so he looked strangely small from where he was also wrapped up in the blankets. Vala was already eating her boar.

The turkey was seasoned with some corruption root, which made Aloy wrinkle her nose slightly. She loved the Nora, but their cooking was just _nothing_ compared to Carja spices.

By the time Aloy’s bowl was finished, Varl and Vala had already eaten all their portions. Vala took her bowl from her and put it with the others, while Varl admired the blanket arrangement.

“This is a good pile, Vala.”

“Thank you,” Vala preened. “You know that I was always the best at making them.”

“I don’t know about that,” Varl said, pretending to think about it. “I was pretty good too.”

“No you weren’t,” Vala said confidently.

“Mother was the best.”

Aloy laughed at their astounded faces as Varl and Vala stared at each other and then started to chuckle over their combined words.

“It’s true,” Vala admitted through her laughter. “Mother was the best at making them.”

Varl rubbed a hand over his face. “You are insufferable.”

“Hey! That’s a mean thing to say about your sister.”

“You mean you used to do this a lot?” Aloy asked, voice feeling scratchy. “Make piles of blankets to sit in?”

“Eh?” Vala said. “Of course! It’s an honoured Nora tradition. The cuddle pile.”

Aloy stared at her, trying to see if this was some new way for Vala to bullshit her, but Varl was nodding and he normally could never hold a straight face this long.

“Seriously?” she finally asked, because she wasn’t convinced.

“Yes, Aloy,” Varl said. “The Nora often construct these piles, Aloy.”

“It’s to foster community spirit,” Vala said confidently.

“Hmm,” Varl hummed. Aloy didn’t know if that meant he agreed or not, but he wasn’t protesting the explanation.

“Yep,” Vala said. “So you gotta get in here, Aloy! You gotta snuggle with us!”

Aloy looked between them. Vala was smiling softly and Varl was looking at both of them fondly. This was just another reminder as to how they’d been raised differently – apparently cuddle piles were a _thing_ the Nora did. A thing that Varl and Vala had grown up with, and thought was normal.

It wasn’t like Aloy didn’t want to snuggle with them – she could thing of much worse things – but it was just a bit weird. And also something that made her feel like an outsider. She didn’t know this, but they did. It was just something that they shared that once again, Aloy did not.

Aloy took a deep breath. There was nothing malicious about either of Varl or Vala’s intentions. Both of them were open and happy and wanted to involve Aloy in this thing. A Nora thing, that would make her included and a part of their lodge.

“Okay,” Aloy finally said, _still_ sounding grumpy for some reason. She would have to make it up to both of them. They had been so good to her while she’s been sick. And now, inviting her to do this thing…

Vala pulled her into a hug, and Varl flicked a blanket up over them. Aloy sighed softly as she felt Vala’s arms come around her. Tomorrow she would feel better, she could tell. Tomorrow, she would thank them both properly.

For now, she enjoyed the way that her family made her feel safe and welcomed and loved.

**Author's Note:**

> Aloy's resting bitch face and permanent grumpiness when sick is ripped directly from me when I'm sick 
> 
> Also I blame my discord for prompting this idea lmao


End file.
